Mozenrath
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Post by Mozenrath on Aug 18, 2021 20:54:15 GMT -5
Lance Archer in New Japan. He was never troubled, but pretty much a career midcarder at best through his entire American wrestling career. Then, in his early 40's, he goes back to New Japan and puts on some of the best matches in his career and gets over big with fans. He turns that into a fun run in AEW as an upper carder who gets to sniff the main event every so often. Yeah, he's talked before about how he just didn't have the confidence he'd find in NJPW prior and it held him back in TNA and WWE since he A. would just do whatever he was told, and B. he didn't have the presence yet. That confidence turned a pile of potential into a complete act.
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Post by IgnahtaSempria on Aug 18, 2021 21:06:25 GMT -5
Eddie Kingston's current run in AEW.
Kingston has been his own worst enemy for a long time, letting his own attitude and mental health issues cost him opportunities in multiple places. For a long time, it seemed like Chikara was the only place he could consistently go back to.
Now he's revitalized his career in AEW and is getting the attention he should have been getting for years.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Aug 18, 2021 21:08:43 GMT -5
Eddie Kingston's current run in AEW. Kingston has been his own worst enemy for a long time, letting his own attitude and mental health issues cost him opportunities in multiple places. For a long time, it seemed like Chikara was the only place he could consistently go back to. Now he's revitalized his career in AEW and is getting the attention he should have been getting for years. Yeah, It's great seeing King on a big stage now... He's always been his own worst enemy and to see him apparently getting his shit together and doing good work is great. And he owes it all to screwing himself out of his chance at a WWE contract... cause he thought he blew his try out
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Post by Celexa Bliss 54 on Aug 18, 2021 21:18:42 GMT -5
I am sure we can name a few from ECW. PJ Walker Shane Douglas Too Cold Scorpio, twice Brian Lee Rick Rude (went from retired and out of the business to one of the most talked-about names in the sport) Bam Bam Bigelow Louie Spicolli, before his demons sadly caught up to him Just to name a few.
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Post by The Creepo Man on Aug 18, 2021 21:19:30 GMT -5
Bob Backlund’s 1992 comeback. Okay, he could still go in the ring, as evidenced by his 1993 Royal Rumble performance, but few people knew who he was since his heyday happened during the territory days. Nobody expected the heel turn and eventual title change when he was 45 years old and the WWF “New Generation” was portraying anyone over age 40 as washed up.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2021 21:49:37 GMT -5
WWE and Ric Flair. when he was let loose the last time he was scamming indy companies for appearance fees and was pretty dire through most of his TNA run... Triple H paid Ric's debt to RoH and basically kept Ric on a leash... it's why I'm really kinda concerned what Flair's going to do now that he's back on the indies. Conrad has too big of a machine behind him now for Flair to ever fail.
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Post by Cyno on Aug 19, 2021 2:49:51 GMT -5
Lance Archer in New Japan. He was never troubled, but pretty much a career midcarder at best through his entire American wrestling career. Then, in his early 40's, he goes back to New Japan and puts on some of the best matches in his career and gets over big with fans. He turns that into a fun run in AEW as an upper carder who gets to sniff the main event every so often. Yeah, he's talked before about how he just didn't have the confidence he'd find in NJPW prior and it held him back in TNA and WWE since he A. would just do whatever he was told, and B. he didn't have the presence yet. That confidence turned a pile of potential into a complete act. Maybe it's because I'm closer to 40 than 30 now, but I appreciate the guys in wrestling that have primes of their careers later on. Especially DDP, who didn't even start training as a wrestler until 35.
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Post by Oh Cry Me a Screwball on Aug 19, 2021 3:34:29 GMT -5
Inspired by a post in the casket match thread about how a big company should hire Enzo. MLW more or less made a gimmick out of this. But I don’t know how successful they’ve really been. Didn’t Teddy Hart backslide, Low-Ki still end up being an asshole, and the jury is still out on Dave’s Richards? I don't know if MLW has ever really rebuilt anyone, so much as they were able to manage egos when they were there. You never heard of any of these guys running roughshod during their tenures save for how Teddy Hart's departure went, but they were still the same sex pests and assholes after MLW that they were when they came in.
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Post by ianriccaboni on Aug 19, 2021 7:18:41 GMT -5
WWE and Ric Flair. when he was let loose the last time he was scamming indy companies for appearance fees and was pretty dire through most of his TNA run... Triple H paid Ric's debt to RoH and basically kept Ric on a leash... it's why I'm really kinda concerned what Flair's going to do now that he's back on the indies. Nobody paid anything to Cary Silkin or ROH. Ric Flair still owes Cary/Rave Review Tickets between $30,000 and $40,000.
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Post by eJm on Aug 19, 2021 7:41:20 GMT -5
WWE and Ric Flair. when he was let loose the last time he was scamming indy companies for appearance fees and was pretty dire through most of his TNA run... Triple H paid Ric's debt to RoH and basically kept Ric on a leash... it's why I'm really kinda concerned what Flair's going to do now that he's back on the indies. Nobody paid anything to Cary Silkin or ROH. Ric Flair still owes Cary/Rave Review Tickets between $30,000 and $40,000. Huh. I thought that was the make good on all of it. I’m going to presume ROH is off the market for him then? 😉
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Post by Magic knows Black Lives Matter on Aug 19, 2021 7:53:28 GMT -5
Honestly, not in the same category as these other cats but I’m amazed that modern 50/50 booking obsessed WWE was able to salvage Bobby Lashley. Dude was practically dead in the water before MVP got ahold of him and told him to stay away from white women. Now, barely a year later, he’s the ALMIGHTY and about to body Goldberg at Summerslam
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Post by James Fabiano on Aug 19, 2021 8:21:06 GMT -5
I am sure we can name a few from ECW. PJ Walker Shane Douglas Too Cold Scorpio, twice Brian Lee Rick Rude (went from retired and out of the business to one of the most talked-about names in the sport) Bam Bam Bigelow Louie Spicolli, before his demons sadly caught up to him Just to name a few. Al Snow, given ridiculous gimmicks*, has a resurgence when he joins ECW and gets...a ridiculous gimmick that is offbeat and gets over. Chris Candido, lost as a Bodydonna, career highlight in WWF = losing to Barry Horowitz. ECW signs him, he spends years in the signature heel faction there. Raven. Was only seen as being a manager/commentator in WWF. Goes to ECW, gets totally reinvented. STEVE AUSTIN. Misused at the end of his WCW run, makes a stop in ECW and builds the foundations for a business-changing character. * - I liked (the original) Leif Cassidy.
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Post by ianriccaboni on Aug 19, 2021 8:21:30 GMT -5
Nobody paid anything to Cary Silkin or ROH. Ric Flair still owes Cary/Rave Review Tickets between $30,000 and $40,000. Huh. I thought that was the make good on all of it. I’m going to presume ROH is off the market for him then? 😉 Was never a make good. The money/dates thing certainly sucks but Cary has plenty of money. Cary is probably the most generous man in America and expects nothing in return. But there's certainly a principle aspect to it. It's such an old issue at this point that the statute of limitations has probably been reached and the legal fees would have cost just as much as what was owed. Compound that with the sobering fact that at the time that money was owed, he might not have been good for it and it is easy to see why it wasn't pursued. Cary would give you the shirt off his back if you said you liked it, not even if you needed it to keep you warm. He is so proud that a ton of the guys on TV in main event spots either started or came through ROH in his run and that it has lasted even longer beyond him. He doesn't want trouble and he doesn't need the money. But yes, nobody ever cleared up the situation with Ric Flair and Cary/Rave/ROH (whichever entity paid him).
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Post by eJm on Aug 19, 2021 8:23:28 GMT -5
Huh. I thought that was the make good on all of it. I’m going to presume ROH is off the market for him then? 😉 Was never a make good. The money/dates thing certainly sucks but Cary has plenty of money. Cary is probably the most generous man in America and expects nothing in return. But there's certainly a principle aspect to it. It's such an old issue at this point that the statute of limitations has probably been reached and the legal fees would have cost just as much as what was owed. Compound that with the sobering fact that at the time that money was owed, he might not have been good for it and it is easy to see why it wasn't pursued. Cary would give you the shirt off his back if you said you liked it, not even if you needed it to keep you warm. He is so proud that a ton of the guys on TV in main event spots either started or came through ROH in his run and that it has lasted even longer beyond him. He doesn't want trouble and he doesn't need the money. But yes, nobody ever cleared up the situation with Ric Flair and Cary/Rave/ROH (whichever entity paid him). Always appreciate the inside perspective, Ian. I honestly thought it was resolved but thinking about it, I guess it was just a presumption when he went back to WWE that something did.
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Post by ianriccaboni on Aug 19, 2021 8:57:10 GMT -5
Was never a make good. The money/dates thing certainly sucks but Cary has plenty of money. Cary is probably the most generous man in America and expects nothing in return. But there's certainly a principle aspect to it. It's such an old issue at this point that the statute of limitations has probably been reached and the legal fees would have cost just as much as what was owed. Compound that with the sobering fact that at the time that money was owed, he might not have been good for it and it is easy to see why it wasn't pursued. Cary would give you the shirt off his back if you said you liked it, not even if you needed it to keep you warm. He is so proud that a ton of the guys on TV in main event spots either started or came through ROH in his run and that it has lasted even longer beyond him. He doesn't want trouble and he doesn't need the money. But yes, nobody ever cleared up the situation with Ric Flair and Cary/Rave/ROH (whichever entity paid him). Always appreciate the inside perspective, Ian. I honestly thought it was resolved but thinking about it, I guess it was just a presumption when he went back to WWE that something did. No problem! This one is a strange one. Cary and I have only ever briefly spoke about it but we haven't talked about it on our Podcast. I think genuinely Cary feels bad for Ric Flair and he doesn't quite know how to communicate it because I think he fears the average fan might interpret that as "Who is this guy to talk (good/bad/indifferent) about a legend!" and not "this guy agreed to dates, we advanced him the money, and he decided not to show up," or however it allegedly went down.
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Post by A Platypus Rave on Aug 19, 2021 11:49:19 GMT -5
Nobody paid anything to Cary Silkin or ROH. Ric Flair still owes Cary/Rave Review Tickets between $30,000 and $40,000. Huh. I thought that was the make good on all of it. I’m going to presume ROH is off the market for him then? 😉 Yes, I was under the impression there was a make good on the WWE's part too... apparently that was incorrect.
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Post by Alice Syndrome on Aug 19, 2021 12:04:11 GMT -5
Austin Aries was on his way out of the biz before TNA picked him back up and threw him directly at the X Division.
I mean he still burned 3 or 4 different bridges after that, but it worked for about 5 years.
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Post by noobeast on Aug 19, 2021 12:07:08 GMT -5
There isn't one company I can point to in particular (maybe GCW? AEW as well now?), but to me, this conversation begins and ends with Nick Gage.
Dude has been completely rebuilt, largely by his fellow wrestlers, just on the back of being a really f***ing cool dude who gives everyone the respect they deserve and isn't afraid to stand up for himself and his people. He's owned his mistakes and is finally getting his due as a guy who can turn a deathmatch into an artform.
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Post by Finish Uncle Muffin’s Story on Aug 19, 2021 12:26:36 GMT -5
Rhyno had some alcohol issues back in the early 2000s that I think played into his release from WWE the first time around, he had a good run in TNA where he got sober and was doing strong work and then ended up back in NXT before his famous Heath tag run. I think it's probably a combo of promotions but he definitely had a bottom out and come back.
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Post by Natural Born Farmer on Aug 19, 2021 12:27:16 GMT -5
When Joey Janela was booking Spring Break years ago he was surprised to find out that PCO still wrestled and brought him in to face Walter.
Match ended up giving him huge buzz, a ton of indie bookings, and eventually his ROH run.
ETA: I'd also say GCW has done a hell of a lot more for Matt Cardona than his Impact or AEW runs did. Not a knock on those companies, but he really needed a place where he could be a big fish in a small pond for a bit.
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